Supporting independent artists & finally adding art to our home

In a previous post introducing our new master bedroom furniture, I mentioned that our walls are still pretty bare and we don't have much art in our house yet. Soon after, I made a concerted effort to look for independent and local artists with prints or commissions available and actually tried to get some framed/printed to personalize our home a bit!

I really adore some of the pieces we got and I wanted to share my love for the art and the artists with a blog post.

Artist: Punky Aloha / Shar Tuiasoa @punkyaloha

I just happened to find @punkyaloha 's account based on a post share by someone else on IG and really loved her art style and subjects + that she's a local artist based on Oahu. She has an established webshop for her prints, but I was curious about her selling some of her pieces that she had posted to her account that I didn't see for sale. I reached out to her via DM and we were able to purchase the square "Aloha" and "Tokyo" prints through a direct transaction! Their dimensions made it a little difficult to find a frame, but I lucked out and found these square size ones from Target that fit the 13" x 13" size almost perfectly that were originally meant for 4 - 4" x 6" prints. We also purchased a 11" x 14" "Lanikai Diver" print from her webshop when she was doing a promotion for her shop sales proceeds to be donated to the NAACP and Black Visions Collective which came with matting. We also got the frame for this from Target as well!

Punky Aloha also teamed up with Foodland and Meals of Aloha to create these super cute canvas totes where every bag sold provides 1 meal. I love the concept and the design so I made sure I got to a grocery store that stocked them (online was sold out!) and picked up one for me and one for my bestie.

Artist: Shani @mahoushani, @mahoushanidraws, @honeytoastart
Reference photos vs art -

Shani had started taking commissions to support her family back in April 2019 and I had requested two drawings - one solo for myself and one me & my bf at the time (now husband). She had a long list of requests and I had just made the cut before she had to close commissions, so I knew I would have a bit of a wait. She finished both pieces in around April/June of this year and I couldn't wait to get them printed (with her permission) and surprise my husband.

For my solo drawing, I loved the vibrant colors and wanted to get a small print for display on my side of the master bedroom. I loved the idea of a simple metallic floating frame and really fell in love with this freestanding style that I found on Amazon. It's currently on my dresser.

For our couple drawing, I knew I would want it side by side with the reference photo since I really liked the autumn background and the real life memory that went with it. I got these both printed as matte "posters" and then bought simple frames without matting. I thought the far corner of the bedroom would be a nice place where we would be able to see them when we walk into the room and also fill a bit of an odd space between windows.

Artist: Paolina @paoriina, @paolinamissio [Etsy]

I started following Paolina on her personal instagram account because I love her fashion sense! I saw that she had posted a super cute shale shark drawing one day and purchased a print from her Etsy when she listed it + started following her art account. This was a no brainer because I love whale sharks and cute sea/ocean themes in general!

The little whale shark print got its own floating frame [Amazon link] and was actually the reason I initially started looking for this type of way to display prints. It sits on the other side of my dresser to balance my solo drawing from Shani.

Artist: @metallic_frogs

I found @metallic_frog's account through #dtiys shares from Paolina and loved their cute but simple style. When I found out they were taking commissions, I DM'd immediately to get more information and requested a 2 capybara drawing in their older style meant to represent my husband and myself. We actually ended up working out the details through email rather than IG (at my request) and they were super easy to work with, sent lots of drafts/options and was able to quickly make the small changes I requested. The whole process took about 4 days and the end products were 4 files (white and transparent background tif and jpeg files, all large format).

This was meant to be another surprise for my husband in addition to just me wanting to have more cute art in the house. With the artist's permission to print the art for personal use, I sent the drawing to a printing service to create a 16" x 20" canvas print. There was already an empty nail from the previous owners of the house near the front door that I knew would be a good spot for this piece, welcoming people into our home. We also see it every time we walk down the stairs.

Artist: Sherry @eriliselee

Another find from #dtiys posts, @eriliselee's icons were too cute to resist and very affordable. She was super easy to work with and also super quick from sketches to final product. For my icon, I requested a fluffy sheep with rose flower crown, puzzle pieces and a ribbon on a pink gradient background. For my husband's icon, I requested a rooster with beer bottle, xbox controller and soccer ball on a blue gradient background.

I hadn't had an intended use for the icons, but after looking at the square shape, and remembering that my husband was saying we needed more "normal pillows", I thought a throw pillow would be super cute. I had received permission from Sherry to use the icons as I wanted (for personal use) and set out to find the best options for a custom pillowcase. I ended up settling on this Amazon listing (18" x 18" size) and then this listing for the insert (size 20" x 20" for a fuller look). Although the listing for the pillow cases says they're machine washable, I would caution against it depending on what kind of color you have in your image. I had to request replacements because the darker colors ran terribly. (Pictures below are the machine washed faded versions which are still cute.) 

The square shape also inspired me to look at ceramic coasters. I ended up ordering a set of 4 (my icon with white and pink background and my husband's icon with white and blue background) from this seller. I can't say I'm 100% pleased with it but we did need coasters and these technically fit the bill. There was a printing error with my husband's icon on the blue background which the seller remade but USPS lost the package, and I accepted a refund instead. I guess it doesn't matter bc the cup covers the image anyway lol.

Artist: Candice @candicedoodles (Etsy)

Candice is another artist living in Hawaii that I found by following more local accounts. Although she isn't originally from here, I loved seeing local places in her artwork as well as a lot of Okinawan influence from when she lived over there as well. When I noticed that she had opened up commissions in a new art style, I jumped at the chance. Originally the commission was for me and my husband, but while we were trying to choose locations, we realized this might be an excellent gift for his mother (my MIL) instead. She loves her college alma mater a LOT. We requested 5 landmarks - Drumheller fountain, Husky stadium, the Quad, Red Square and the W in purple and gold (the school colors).

We sent Candice the details on Jul 5 and she had a finished product to mail out on July 9 - super quick! She also sent us a digital preview which I was overjoyed about. Knowing how much my MIL loves Udub, I know she will enjoy this. We purchased a floating frame from Target and plan to gift it to her next month for her birthday. I'm sad we're not keeping this because I love it so much, but we do plan to purchase or commission more from Candice in the future!

Resources allowing, this is hopefully this just the start of our art purchases. I have my eye on a couple more but I'm still deciding where in the house we'd put it so I can figure out the right size. Hope everyone is staying safe. If you have any other art recommendations, please leave them in the comments!

Ted Baker Daaino jumpsuit, Luuciee dress, Bardot off shoulder peplum dress & Bow detail peplum dress

This post features two Ted Baker London items I ordered from the Ted Baker official webstore and two Ted Baker London items I ordered from Nordstrom Rack.

I've been on a bit of a Ted Baker kick lately [previous posts - Ted Baker Nanina dress, Ted Baker Tilliai dress, Ted Baker secondhand dresses & skirt] ever since I realized they had an existing size that fits my body pretty well. However, I'd never ordered from the Ted Baker site directly before and had only ever bought direct via their physical store (which for obvious reasons was closed for much of the time I've been online shopping lately). The shipping to HI seems to be around $40 flat rate for even just a single phone case, so I enlisted the help of a friend to forward some items I ordered from CA (where I could ship to for free) to Hawaii for about half the price.
Over the self-isolation period, I also realized department store retailers like Nordstrom, Nordstrom Rack, Bloomingdales and Selfridges were other great Ted Back stockist options that had current products and often similar if not better sales than the official webstore with free or cheaper shipping! After pouring over my options and trying to determine the best pricing over the last several months, this is what I was excited to receive:

Ted Baker Daaino Tie front jumpsuit in Olive
(purchased from Ted Baker)

This was the item I was most excited about from all of the other items in this post. It's a bit wacky but I fell in love with the design and I think because I had my nails painted a similar jade color at the time, I knew I had to have it. There's also something really fun about the faux 2-piece appearance with the little colorful triangles and open back. I also really get a kick out of the removable lemon keychain.

with Flag J sandals -

I had anticipated the pant length to be a few inches too long (I'm no 5'11" model), but was hoping it wouldn't need crazy alterations. A handful of inches from the pants hem and it's actually quite wearable. It's quite roomy in the bust for me (a review I had seen mentioned that it was small up there so I must be exceptionally less endowed). Other than that, it's just about as I expected and I definitely look forward to wearing it for all sorts of different occasions.

Ted Baker Luuciee Ruffle detail skater dress in Black
(purchased from Ted Baker)

This was a bit more of an impulse buy since I was looking for something to throw in my cart to get free domestic shipping if possible. I wouldn't say this is a silhouette I'm typically drawn to with the ruffles accentuating the shoulders especially but the price was quite discounted so I didn't think I could go wrong with a black dress with a few fun details.

with Betsey Johnson bijou necklace, Betsey Johnson wedge pumps -

+ Evelyn bijou belt

+ EATME faux leather cross belt

with DreamV cross strap pumps

This dress can easily be styled with other black accessories and look super classic, but when I purchased it, I knew it would be fun to jazz up with a fun necklace or a bright colored shoe or purse. I didn't have the best opportunity to do so for these worn photos, but I definitely have some plans for changing up my accessories with this dress when I can actually wear it out.

Ted Baker Bardot off the shoulder peplum waist dress in Navy
(purchased from Nordstrom Rack)

Not gonna lie, I was mostly swayed by the price for this one and not much else. This is a dress I know I can easily wear to work and can be styled up for a fancier occasion if need be with a statement necklace. I love a well-fit fitted dress and that's what I'm looking for Ted Baker to provide based on what I knew of the past pieces I purchased. I'm generally just a sucker for an off shoulder neckline and have been finding peplums really flattering lately!

with Liz Lisa bijou necklace and Jessica Simpson Dany sandals -

+ Evelyn bijou belt

It's quite a nice fit, even a bit snug. It seems like the bodycon type dresses from Ted Baker fit me just around how I would prefer but anything else is a bit looser for some reason. The off shoulder "sleeves" are very secure and after wearing it all day at work, they completely stayed put. I also really like the length for this dress and the peplum hitting me just about at the right spot.

Ted Baker Bow detail peplum dress in Black
(purchased from Nordstrom Rack)

Threw this in my cart last minute (similar to the other black dress) to help get free shipping. I was a bit nervous about the length (especially based on what was in the listing description) being too long, but the modeled photos made me feel a little more comfortable - hoping that this one wouldn't be too dissimilar to the other dresses I had.

with Nine West sandals -

+ Evelyn bijou belt -

+ EATME faux leather cross belt

The length turned out to be a bit long but not so much that I feel like it needs alterations. I think this will make a great work dress and will easily match with a ton of different shoe options. Although there's an implied belt on the dress, I think the Evelyn bijou belt actually adds quite a nice accent and focal point that's still sophisticated. The EATME cross belt adds a little more of an edge and helps emphasize my waist a little more.

Tried my best with the outdoor pictures again but honestly this is not my favorite in the summer lol. When the wind blows, the mirror moves or my hair looks wacky but when it's not blowing, it's wayyyy too hot and humid. I also haven't been able to figure out a good spot/time for lighting but I'll give it a few more chances when I'm up to it. (Not giving up yet!)